With the retirement of the A-6 Intruder, in minimal time, the Tomcat became the premier carrier-based bombing platform with capabilities on par with the Air Force’s F-15E Strike Eagle.
The cool video in this post features the new official trailer of Tomcat Tales, the upcoming F-14 documentary whose premiere is coming on Jul. 5, 2020.
As the clip shows, the Tomcat played a vital role in the immediate 9/11 aftermath thanks to the efforts undertaken in the previous years by the Tomcat community to give the F-14 a credible strike capability.
While the F-14 was initially developed to counter the Soviet Union’s cold war threat, the F-14’s primary focus was on the Air-to-Air role of shooting down enemy aircraft.
A standard training evolution in the first two decades of the Tomcat employment concentrated on long-range intercepts and employment of the long-range AIM-54 Phoenix missile which enabled a US fighter to simultaneously employ multiple missiles from a single fighter platform – a first for US military aviation.
The training continued into the visual range arena resulting in sharpening “dogfighting” skills. The original Topgun training course focused on these areas which resulted in significantly enhanced “kill ratios” for the US.
With the implosion of the Soviet Union in the late ’80s, US fighters, including the Tomcat, were left with no significant air-air threats. Although the Soviet fighters had been exported around the world, the ability of these countries to employ Soviet-style fighters was lacking, to say the least.
With the retirement of the A-6 Intruder and no funded heavy bomber replacement aircraft yet available, the Tomcat community stepped up and quickly adapted modern equipment and capabilities to the already decades-old Tomcat. In minimal time, the Tomcat became the premier carrier-based bombing platform with capabilities on par with the Air Force’s F-15E Strike Eagle.
“Tomcat Tales” details this story by talking to those who led the charge to develop the “Bombcat” with precision-guided weapons capability in record time enabling the powerful carrier punch that was first on the “Enduring Freedom” scene post 9/11. These engaging stories are also covered in the movie “Tomcat Tales” where the audiences will see and hear directly from those who performed exciting missions in Afghanistan and Iraq as they discuss employing the Tomcat in battle!
Tomcat Tales is the ultimate documentary about America’s most beloved Navy fighter jet— the Grumman F-14 Tomcat! For more information on the movie, CLICK HERE.
As we have already explained, the movie is produced by Mark “Viz” Vizcarra and his brother Michael “Scar” Vizcarra, both former F-14 pilots that also flew together in the iconic Tomcat.
The World Premiere of Tomcat Tales is coming on Jul. 5, 2020!
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Photo by Michael and Mark Vizcarra, National Park Service and U.S. Navy